UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => equipment => Topic started by: boxmonkey on August 17, 2019, 06:42:28 pm
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Any suggestions appreciated. Need new shoes.
Unimpressed by tenayis but always found my sportiva miuras decent on grit.
Bumped into a bloke at the Roaches and he swore by 5.10 for gritstone.
Any grit experts?
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Used to be a 5:10 fan - now find scarpa’s rubber generally better. Apart from when it’s very cold -
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Well, I am not an expert. But I do climb on grit and find flat soles give generally better all round service than down pointed ones. Eg I love the Scarpa VSRs but find the Vapour Velcro more versatile.
Which shoe will suit you best depends on how they feel in the shop; it depends on their last. Grip 2 rubber is pretty good IMO, but I don’t see major differences in rubber quality between manufacturers. I wouldn’t recommend super soft or super stiff shoes- mid range stiffness covers most bases as it can be stiff to start then smear well when worn in.
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First test is always; do they fit your feet well.
Second is what you're using them for. I like to try and use a shoe specific to the problem, not the rock type. For example a soft last and soft rubber compound might work really well for digging your toes in on a roof problem on grit, but will be next to useless if you need to stand on and put all of your bodyweight through a tiny gritstone pebble!
Really important therefore to have more than one shoe available if you can.
That said, if you only want a single pair then good all rounders that spring to mind for grit are Scarpa Instinct VSRs, Scarpa Chimeras, 5.10 Pinks, 5.10 Anasazis and La Sportiva Solutions.
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Brilliant. Thanks everyone. Really helpful.